Q: The Dames was founded in 2015 and has now been supporting women entrepreneurs for over a decade. How have you seen the landscape for women-owned businesses evolve since you started, and what gaps are you still seeing today?
MC: The biggest shift I've seen is that women stopped treating each other like competition and started treating each other like collaborators. I came out of six years in corporate and started my first business in 2009, and honestly, I was disgusted by how women treated each other there. Doors weren't held; ladders weren't extended; women were actively blocking other women's advancement. That wasn't personal failure, it was systemic, a byproduct of too few women in leadership. Today I see the opposite: cross-promotion, masterminding, resource-sharing, and once trust is built, real deal referrals in the five, six, and seven-figure range. The gap that still bugs me is this: when The Dames started in 2015, only about 2% of women-owned businesses crossed seven figures, and that number hasn't moved. More women are starting businesses than ever, which matters, but our mission is building sustainable companies that employ people well, fund the lifestyle you actually want, and ripple out into communities. I'm proud of the Dames who've crossed seven figures without sacrificing their life to get there.

Q: Your focus is on women running six-, seven-, and eight-figure businesses. Why did you choose to concentrate on this specific segment, and what makes their challenges different from other entrepreneur communities?
MC: This segment was underserved, and it's exactly where the paradigm shift women are driving is happening. Most business role models we've had are men, but women and men don't operate the same way. I watched women chase six and seven figures using the same books and leadership training built for men and burn out or live in constant overwhelm as a result; on top of that, many were forging new paths in male-dominated industries. None of this is about feminism or sexism; it's about balancing healthy masculine and feminine energy. Women tend to lean into unhealthy masculine energy and go it alone, and the higher you climb toward that top 2% of seven-figure women-owned businesses, the fewer peers and mentors there are, so it gets lonelier at the top. Women are built to grow through community, collaboration, and co-creation. Plenty of communities support women at seven figures and beyond, and plenty support early-stage founders, but the six-to-seven-figure transition was wide open. That was our blue ocean.

Q: With the $34 trillion wealth transfer projected over the next decade, how is The Dames positioning women entrepreneurs to capture and build wealth during this pivotal moment?
MC: At our fifth annual FunFerence, we're tackling this head-on, especially in our business finance session led by Megan Schwan, accountant, tax strategist, and Certified Profit First Professional. She'll show members how to not just generate profit but hold onto that wealth long-term instead of giving in to the instinct to reinvest everything back into the business or spend it down to dodge taxes. It's about learning the right strategies for the next five years. Inside Dames membership, we run twice-monthly Next Level skills trainings, plus several financial trainings a year; and for the rest of 2026 into 2027, we're doubling down on new ways for women to hold wealth and hold power, sustainably.

Q: What's one success story or transformation from a member that best encapsulates what The Dames is really about?
MC: Becca Cooper Lebove, founder and PR/brand strategist at Shubu Creative Group, is the one I point to. She's put our Power Partner and Dames Ask systems to real use, attending four of our five annual FunFerence conferences to build knowledge and real, lasting relationships with fellow Dames. She shows up consistently in her revenue-based Think Tank circle, giving help as much as she asks for it, and applies what she learns from peers straight back into her business. Since joining, she's grown her business 4x; her membership has returned over 2,000% ROI, more than $250,000 in revenue generated. That's what an ideal Dame looks like.

Q: What have been the biggest challenges you've faced in building The Dames, and what have those taught you about leadership?
MC: The biggest hits came at revenue ceilings: the $250K mark and the $500K mark. Each one demanded an identity shift; I had to become the leader who could actually take us to the next level. Each ceiling also came with its own business challenges, which I tackled by hiring fellow Dames who were experts in systems and process creation; upgrading our project management, website, and marketing tools; working with financial experts on cash flow, budgeting, and forecasting; and learning how to hire, motivate, and nurture a team. But the bigger lesson is this: you only grow professionally as much as you're willing to grow personally. Every personal challenge I've pushed through has come back as better business results. A few, so other women can see themselves in it: quitting drinking as a former gray-area drinker in 2017; closing my marketing consulting business in 2019 to get the lifestyle I wanted instead of working 70-hour weeks; my divorce in 2023; and a hysterectomy in 2025.

Q: How do you personally stay connected to your members' needs and pain points, especially as the community has grown?
MC: We run six in-person chapters, plus one virtual chapter that spans the globe. I've stayed on as Chapter President in Denver specifically, so I stay close to what's actually happening; businesses evolve fast, especially when you're working with women operating in their zone of genius. I also travel regularly to our other chapters to sit with members and listen. On top of that, we run buyer interviews and focus groups with members worldwide every two years, and we're constantly tweaking our offers to match what our ideal Dames actually need, want, and desire. We're mid-way through our biggest transformation yet; stay tuned :-)

Q: Looking ahead, what's your vision for The Dames in the next five years?
MC: We're building a multi-tiered membership designed to solve our members' biggest problems at their biggest inflection points, while staying current on whatever's shifting in business next. We started AI workshops in 2024, focused on ethical, human-centered AI across personal growth, marketing, operations, and finance; we're continuing to lead them, so members' expertise gets showcased while others learn to stay current. The next five years demand embracing technology and building it into our business models to stay relevant, and we're doing that alongside our members every step of the way, making sure their sovereignty stays intact through the changes. We'll keep stabilizing our six local chapters and virtual community, then expand into new first- and second-tier U.S. markets and grow our global footprint.

Q: Tell us about FunFerence 2026. What should attendees expect, and what makes this year's conference different from previous years?
MC: FunFerence gives women leaders three focused days to determine what to refine, reinvent, expand, or release, build revenue-producing relationships, strengthen profitability, and create a clear plan for finishing 2026 stronger and entering 2027 ready to grow. This year we're extra tuned into what our network has actually been through: members rapidly pivoting business models, target audiences, messaging, tools, systems, and teams, and every session addresses these shifts head-on, so attendees walk away with plans from expert facilitators they can implement immediately, solo or with their teams. We combine advanced business strategy, deep personal growth, and our signature Power Partner collaborative and co-creative tools to help attendees build structures aligned with their actual life and goals. Every FunFerence is different, but this one is set up as a wise women's council table: women sitting together to move money, deals, and opportunities between members and guests, widening the horizon so they can make a bigger impact on their local, national, and international communities.

Q: FunFerence runs October 7–10 in Denver. What's the significance of this year's theme/focus, and how does it connect to what women entrepreneurs need right now?
MC: This year's focus was shaped by what our members face at the $250K-to-$1M stage: upgrading systems, processes, and people all at once, often while sacrificing salary and sanity to keep the lights on, running into hiring gaps that need ten people on a budget for one or two, and trying to figure out how to responsibly apply AI before it decides the next few years for you.

The data backs it up. The 2026 Impact of Women-Owned Businesses report found women-owned employer firms earning $250K to $1M saw revenue contraction and headcount reductions during economic uncertainty, which validates our focus on right-scaling and sustainable growth to, and above, seven figures. A 2026 U.S. Bank survey found the same appetite for growth despite the pressure: 91% of owners plan to invest in growth this year, through hiring, new offerings, and geographic expansion.

Women at this stage feel inflation and thinning margins the hardest, and they're also the most likely to stay quiet about it for fear of looking incapable. FunFerence, and especially our revenue-based Think Tank circles, creates a room where everyone faces genuinely similar problems, so we're each other's best resource, if we're willing to be vulnerable. That safe space, one where members can step back from the day-to-day and make objective, wise decisions about their wealth and their spending, is the whole point, at FunFerence and across The Dames.

Q: Who should be in the room at FunFerence, and what's the one thing you hope every attendee walks away with?
MC: About 75% of FunFerence attendees are current Dames members generating anywhere from $100K to $3M in annual revenue. The remaining quarter are guests experiencing a few days with The Dames before deciding to join.

The one thing I hope every attendee walks away with is total clarity on her business's crossroads: whether it's time to refine, reinvent, expand, or release. Not just clarity, but a real action plan to move on it, backed by a room of women who will actually hold her accountable to following through.

Q: What is one word of advice you can offer to young women who want to reach your level of success?
MC: Learn yourself so deeply that you know yourself better than anyone else does, and from that self-discovery, build the deepest self-love you can. Act from that place: listen to your body's cues, trust your intuition, and trust your own brilliance.

Q: Can you tell our audience one of your most memorable moments of your career?
MC: One of the most memorable moments was closing my six-figure marketing consulting business in 2019 to go full-time as CEO of The Dames. I'd told myself for years I needed to keep both, for financial security, for how I'd be perceived, and because I had a strong marketing background, so I "should" stick with it. The truth was I didn't love it anymore, and I wasn't impacting enough people at any given time. Within a year of going full-time with The Dames, I'd replaced my marketing company's revenue twofold, and I was ten times happier and more satisfied. That's the pattern: every time I follow my joy, my intuition, and my body, I end up somewhere better than where I started. My definition of success keeps evolving, but the mainstay is this: I need professional and personal satisfaction, joy, fulfillment, and alignment. When I'm not aligned, I shift and transform, and it's almost always uncomfortable, but so is every big change. What's on the other side is always worth it.

Q: At the start of your career, what do you wish you had known?
MC: I wish I'd known I'd eventually become an entrepreneur; I could have studied entrepreneurship in school. But honestly, I got my MBA from the school of real-life entrepreneurialism instead, starting my business during the Great Recession, in an industry nobody understood yet, with no safety net to fall back on. I'm extremely glad I did it that way. Now I trust that every step I've taken was the right one, and that I'm always exactly where I need to be.

Q: Which woman inspires you and why?
MC: I've never been someone who idolizes others or looks to gurus or heroines to emulate. That said, I have immense gratitude for the women who trailblazed the path ahead of me, and for my mom, who always made sure I understood I could do anything I wanted. What actually inspires me is watching women in my community help each other reach their biggest goals in alignment with their purpose and mission, and seeing their satisfaction and joy grow because of it

Q: Can you tell us how you manage your work-life balance?
MC: This has been one of the hardest parts of my journey. Early on, I had a very different money and abundance mindset than I do now, before my spiritual journey, which started around 2012 and has continued to change me in ways I never expected. For the first six years in business, I worked too much because I felt I had to, or I wouldn't make it. I kept up harmful drinking, and I constantly talked myself out of exercise, time with friends, or anything that fed my creativity. As I've grown through my spiritual journey, as a leader, and as a business owner, I've gotten protective of my time, and my health, wealth, and spirituality now come before everything else. And wouldn't you know it, I'm doing better in wealth and business than ever, with more spaciousness in my calendar and my life every year.

Q: What's your advice for women in male-dominated fields?
MC: Learn to balance masculine and feminine energy and do the self-discovery work to understand yourself. Take care of your health first: exercise regularly, get your hormones balanced, and work with a therapist or coach who can help you soften the type-A, over-functioning tendencies most of us carry. Drop the negative coping mechanisms you're using as crutches and build a strong friend group you grow with regularly, not one you just complain with. Learn to ask for help and actually receive it; you don't have to do everything alone. Find your male allies and your fellow pioneers breaking trail in their own fields and support each other. Be willing to stand up and stand out with your own powerful message and unite with other women using their voices too.